Show The directors director's haunted mansion MOi ual a. a Thornburg Los Angeles Times Oct 31 is director Rich Correll's favorite day of the year Years ago while other kids were out gathering treats year old Correll was blown busy creating full full blown blown Halloween environments in his family's 1937 Paul Williams home gauzy mazes inhabited by movie monsters graveyards with th t 1 L L. L VU J l JI from trees Then there was the year he ran a black cable from his house to a neighbors neighbor's chimney so a witch could fly between the homes You get the picture I used to invite my whole class over and everyone else in the neighborhood Correll says My dad thought I was a bit crazy but my mom indulged me meshe she thought I was being creative Today Correll who has directed episodes of such TV hits as Hannah Montana The Suite Life of Jack and Cody and Cory in the House continues to create scary Halloween mise- mise en For the last 10 years hes he's produced Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion party for 1500 guests transforming ing the pad into the largest private haunted house in hi the country and the surrounding 6 2 1 acres into the land of the walking dead But Correll's favorite Halloween event is decorating his own 1926 Tudor home come in Los Angeles that he shares with his first assistant director wife Beth Hughs party is for adults ours is devoted to kids and families Correll says And what a party it is Correll a noted film historian and collector uses it to showcase his collection of horror movie artifacts With more than 1 1900 items including makeup effects fi movie memorabilia and 1 plus 1700 masks and life-cast life figures he has his very own Halloween prop house from which to select Its the largest grouping of horror movie artifacts inthe in inthe inthe the world claims Correll who plans to display his diabolical collection in a anew anew anew new interactive Las Vegas s venue Haunted Hollywood next summer Correll caught the Halloween bug as a achild achild achild child actor He played Richard friend of the Beaver actor Jerry Mathers rs on on the popular SOs TV show Leave It to Beaver During breaks show makeup artist Bob Dawn would take Correll and Mathers to Universals Universal's makeup lab where they watched designers create masks for the horror movies They were just throwing out stuff right and left recalls Correll whose first piece in his collection was a Mr Hyde face from Abbott bbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde salvaged from a studio trash bin That mask worn by Boris Karloff started the whole thing Each Halloween many of Correll's fi creatures and scary masks come alive at his home in the historic neighborhood of Hancock Park known for its two-story two Revivalist residences set on broad tree-lined tree streets Correll and about 50 of his Hollywood pals work on and off for about a month to transform his home into a spooky spook mansion complete with a haunted graveyard in front Children and adults lineup lineup line lineup up along the brick pathway leading to the house then peer into ground-floor ground French windows each framing a ghoulish scene The themes change annually but the late Heath Ledgers Ledger's evil Joker accompanied by Batman and chain wielding saw-wielding are three of the characters scheduled to appear this year The silicone masks appear lifelike and the window fiends ate are known to spring to life acting out in mock fashion their heinous deeds to the thrill and screams of children and parents alike r r j jou J 1 I F- F FIt 1 i It f 1 At t 4 I J IL I II Lifelike models of I Batman I and II Joker I Los I Angeles I limes photo by lien t |